Oakland Zoo Emergency Culvert Replacement ENGEO Incorporated
Project Location: Oakland, California Project Start Date: 1 January 2023 Project Completion: 3 February 2023
Project Team: Jeff Fippin, GE (Principal) Jon Buck, PE Sean Cleary, PE Project Summary: On December 31st, 2022, after several days of rain from an atmospheric river, the 72-inch culvert passing underneath the entrance road to the Oakland Zoo suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed during extremely heavy flows–washing away a 25-foot-wide section of the road and exposing utilities. As an on-call consultant, ENGEO quickly assisted City of Oakland staff and their on-call contractor (McGuire and Hester) in assessing the conditions, stabilizing the area of the failure, monitoring the conditions during ongoing storm events, and obtaining emergency permits from Federal and State agencies to replace the culvert and repair the road. ENGEO, the contractor, and the City of Oakland worked collaboratively to efficiently develop repair recommendations, prepare construction plans and specifications, and perform construction quality control services for the project that was completed in approxi - mately 3.5 weeks, allowing the Zoo to reopen in just 35 days. Impact: Opened in 1922, the Oakland Zoo is a significant cultural and historical feature in the City of Oakland and is heavily involved in the local community, offering education programs to schools, supporting non-profits, and offering free and discounted admission to disadvantaged families and children. The shutdown of the Zoo had serious financial im - plications–totalling an estimated $500,000 lost in weekly revenue during the shutdown–so the project’s timing was crucial. The creek channel was also repaired, which eliminated the risk of further environmental damage to the creek and Zoo property.
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csengineermag.com YEA 2023
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